Paul Manafort, Rick Gates indicted on 12 counts, incl. 'conspiracy against U.S.

Source: Washington Examiner | October 30, 2017 | Melissa Quinn

Paul Manafort, Rick Gates indicted on 12 counts, including ‘conspiracy against the United States’

A federal grand jury indicted President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his former business associate Rick Gates on 12 counts, including conspiracy against the United States and conspiracy to launder money, the special counsel’s office announced Monday.

The indictment also contains counts of making false and misleading Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, serving as an unregistered foreign principal, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.

Manafort and Gates surrendered to federal authorities Monday morning. CNN reported that Gates and Manafort will be in court at 1:30 Monday afternoon.

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According to the indictment, Manafort and Gates, who served as political consultants and lobbyists, devised a scheme to “defraud and to obtain money and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises” from the U.S., banks and other institutions.

The two made tens of millions of dollars in income working as unregistered agents for the government of Ukraine between at least 2006 to 2015, according to the indictment, and laundered the money through the U.S. and foreign corporations, as well as partnerships and bank accounts, from 2006 to at least 2016.

Additionally, they funneled millions to foreign nominee companies and bank accounts opened in foreign countries, including Cyprus, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Seychelles, according to the indictment. The existence of the foreign companies and bank accounts were hidden by Manafort and Gates, and both men failed to report the foreign bank accounts to tax preparers and the U.S. government, the document said.

The indictment also states Manafort and Gates hid their work for and payments from the Ukrainian government.

The Justice Department inquired about their foreign work in 2016, and Manafort and Gates “responded with a series of false and misleading statements.”

The indictment states Manafort laundered $18 million and Gates transferred more than $3 million from offshore accounts to other accounts he controlled.

The millions of dollars laundered by Manafort were used to buy multimillion dollar properties, goods and services in the U.S., and “used his hidden overseas wealth to enjoy a lavish lifestyle” in the U.S.

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